16 Aug Back to School: Caring for Your Child’s Spine
It’s not unusual for kids to suffer from back strains and pains when they start lugging around a backpack and spending hours seated at their school desks. Parents can do a lot to help head-off back problems by teaching their children good school habits in areas like posture and backpack use.
Starting off with a chiropractic checkup will also help your child have a pain-free school year. Eastern Oklahoma Chiropractic provides safe, gentle care for children to help their spines weather the demands of getting back to school.
Promoting Good Posture at School
Correct posture is essential for keeping your joints and bones aligned, reducing strain on muscles and ligaments that lead to painful disorders.
Learning good posture early on will make your child much less prone to pain and injury, at school and throughout life. Practice good posture at home with your child so that it will become second nature at school.
A few tips to keep in mind:
Keep the spine straight, whether sitting or standing. No slumping forward, twisting or arching the back. Shoulders should be relaxed and not hunched.
When sitting, keep both feet on the floor with ankles a bit in front of knees.
Check your child’s posture while standing. Their ears should be directly above their shoulders and their head straight, not tilting to the front or back.
Backpack Safety
A properly used backpack distributes weight evenly, allowing the abdominal and back muscles to handle the weight. This prevents cutting off of circulation and helps to avoid injury.
Your child’s backpack should:
- Have a waist strap and padded shoulder straps that can be fitted correctly to the child’s body
- Be worn on both shoulders, not hanging to the side
- Be made of lightweight material such as canvas (no leather)
- Be limited in size to avoid overpacking and excess weight, which could throw off the child’s balance and strain muscles
- Be no more than 10% of the child’s body weight when filled
- Have multiple pockets so items can be packed evenly, with the heaviest items close to the body
More Ways to Promote a Healthy Back
- Avoid prolonged sitting at home
- Get regular exercise that helps develop strong core muscles
- Eat a balanced diet and stay at a healthy weight to minimize back strain
- Wear comfortable shoes to school that supports the foot—no flip-flops or backless shoes
Chiropractic Care to Protect Your Child’s Back
Chiropractors provide many therapies for children that help them to have a safer, more productive experience at school. A gentle, modified type of spinal adjustment for children assures that their spine is properly aligned, helping to increase their mobility and improve posture.
Chiropractic treatments give students a solid framework of stability to ensure that the good posture and backpack habits they practice at school are most effective.
A Complimentary Consultation is Available at Our Broken Arrow Office
A strong, healthy spine for all ages is our mission at Eastern Oklahoma Chiropractic. Call us at 918-940-4630 today.